A simple Summer's Lunch

A Simple Summers Lunch I do so love the ease of Summer. I try to take some time off to refresh my palate. It takes a few weeks of not cooking, and then I start to be inspired by the local foods on offer from the Farmers Markets. This year we have built and planted a raised bed in our garden here in Harlem The saga of the Squirrel and the Canteloupe’s is a story for another time. We have Basil in pots and a few plants in the bed. I have not been a great lover of Pesto, for any number of reasons, but mainly it can sometimes be too much. But I had forgotten the pleasure of a very simple pesto. Ian, my nephew, who is staying with us renewed my taste for it. Ian enjoys making a simple tomato sauce or basil pesto to go with pasta for lunch. It has partly been what got my taste buds zooming again.

The heat of the Jerk shrimp off sets the pesto, and the pesto cools the spiciness of the shrimp. For the Jerk, I like Walkers Wood Jerk seasoning. We have tried a couple of different jerk recipes ourselves but the Walkers Wood is a flavor that I like. They also make a mild version. Allow 5 to 6 shrimp per person, marinate in the jerk seasoning for at least an hour. Sometimes I grill the shrimp, sometimes I saute them, both works well.

For the simple pesto, I picked a dozen or so large basil leaves and chopped it with a large garlic bulb. If you wanted to make more pesto, a small cuisinart would work well. I then added 2 tablespoons grated parmesan, and 2 tablespoons olive oil and mixed it all together in a small bowl. Cook 1/2 box of Orzo in salted boiling water.. Strain. Stir in the pesto. Let cool. Taste test for seasoning. Serve with tomato salad, or a cucumber salad. Enjoy with a cold Prosecco and good conversation....